Xbox will impose a cap on cloud gaming hours for Game Pass subscribers starting

With console hardware prices getting raised higher and higher, accessing titles via cloud gaming might have seemed like a reasonable and comparatively more affordable alternative. Unfortunately, Game Pass subscribers who were using Microsoft’s cloud gaming services are going to be facing some new limitations this November in the form of monthly hourly caps.

Ultimate subscribers are going to be capped at 15 hours per month, Premium members will get only 10 hours a month, and Essential subscribers get five hours. Those who wish to buy more hours will be able to do so via the Xbox Store, with prices to be announced later and likely to vary based on market.

Microsoft attempts to spin this change in a couple of ways: First, it claims that only four percent of subscribers actually utilize cloud gaming functionality. Second, gamers will be able to purchase cloud gaming hours without subscribing to Game Pass starting in November. Third, it reminds players that cloud gaming will grant owners of the Xbox One the ability to play eligible Xbox X|S games if they happen to be priced out of buying a new console — a situation that we once more remind readers is one of Microsoft’s own making.

“We’re introducing this model because the cost of providing cloud gaming grows as more people use it and play for longer,” the announcement closes. “Moving to monthly limits allows us to keep offering the service while continuing to invest in its reliability and performance. We understand that for some players the practical result is a higher cost.”

Gamers are obviously not taking the news very well as they call the upcoming hourly caps stingy, presume that the price changes are being used to offset the titanic costs of AI investment, or brace for even worse changes like pay-per-hour pricing. Even if one takes Microsoft’s word that the service is used by a tiny amount of subscribers to the service, this is not a great look.

sources: Xbox Wire, Reddit (1, 2)